UM holding onto underdog mentality after landmark win

Like predators lurking in the bushes, the Miami Hurricanes quietly played their way into the top 25. But Wednesday, their cover was blown.

The 27-point slaughter of No. 1 Duke put the Hurricanes (14-3, 5-0 ACC) front-and-center in the national basketball discussion. They won't be sneaking up on anyone anymore — especially not archrival Florida State who'll visit a sold-out BankUnited Center at 6 p.m. Sunday.

But UM junior Kenny Kadji doesn't think this team traded in its hunter's mentality.

"I still don't think that many people respect us," he said. "I've been watching the papers and every thing, it's more about how bad Duke played and not as much about how well Miami played. I always have that underdog mentality."

Winners of six straight and owner of a 1 1/2-game ACC lead, No. 25 Miami is in untested water. Florida State (11-7, 3-2) lost two of its last three after winning six of seven.

Miami coach Jim Larranaga cited the fact that FSU has the fourth-tallest roster in the nation and some sharp-shooting guards as reasons beyond the obvious to take the Seminoles seriously.

Having the services of Reggie Johnson back helps ease concerns with the lengthy Seminoles coming to town. The senior made a surprise return to the lineup Wednesday just a month after breaking his thumb in Hawaii.

Larranaga said he'll continue to ease him back into action after playing 16 minutes off the bench against Duke. He's yet to practice at full speed since missing eight games with the injury since doctors only cleared him Wednesday morning. And though he didn't have a huge statistical night against Duke, Kadji saw an impact that can't be quantified.

"You could see the [Duke] players kinda getting scared when Reggie got into the game," he said. "They have to worry about him. He doesn't have to score points, just being out there, they had to worry about him. … I'm telling you there were some scared players out there."

The Miami players were loose and laid back when meeting with reporters Friday afternoon. They were about to install the FSU game plan, but Larranaga wasn't treating the moment any differently.

Consistency in performance is the key to their success, he said. But understanding the new target pinned to their back is important.

Twice in his career Larranaga experienced similar circumstances. First, he was an assistant at Virginia when Ralph Sampson had the Cavaliers No. 1. They made the Final Four in 1981, but never won a title. Then, at George Mason, his program suddenly became the team circled on every schedule after the 2006 Final Four run.

"Every place we went the next year, it was promoted as 'the first Final Four team to ever play in our arena,'" Larranaga said. "So we went to Radford, the place was packed. The game before it they drew 200 fans and the game after us, they drew 200 fans."

The Patriots beat Radford night, but lost four of their next six to finish 18-15 and miss the postseason. Beating Duke was Miami's equivalent of George Mason's surprise Final Four.

"It captures the attention of the players and coaches," Larranaga said. "And they're not going to be taken be surprise and you're not going to fly under the radar screen."